The Role of a Pediatric Belt Cane in Children with Cerebral Visual Impairment
Paul Chong1, Andrew D Brown1, Robert W Enzenauer2
1Department of Ophthalmology, Walter Reed National Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Insights
Children with cerebral/cortical visual impairment (CVI) using a Pediatric Belt Cane showed significantly improved gait speed and mobility. This pilot study suggests the cane aids navigation and walking in children with CVI.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric mobility and assistive technology
- Visual impairment and neurodevelopmental disorders
Background:
- Children with cerebral/cortical visual impairment (CVI) often exhibit cautious gait patterns due to challenges in visual navigation and hazard detection.
- Difficulty with visual preview impacts obstacle negotiation and foot placement, affecting overall mobility.
- The Pediatric Belt Cane is a novel assistive device designed to support safe navigation in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the association between Pediatric Belt Cane use and improved gait speed in children diagnosed with CVI.
- To analyze step length and foot-mobility as exploratory outcomes related to gait improvement.
- To assess the preliminary impact of the Pediatric Belt Cane on the functional mobility of children with CVI.
Main Methods:
- A pre-post observational pilot study involving 11 children with CVI.
- Smartphone videos were analyzed at baseline and after 8 weeks of Pediatric Belt Cane use.
- Gait speed, step length, and foot-mobility were derived using MediaPipe Pose analysis of bilateral feet tracking.
Main Results:
- Significant improvements were observed in gait speed (+66.0%, p<0.001) after 8 weeks of Pediatric Belt Cane use.
- Exploratory outcomes also showed substantial gains: step length increased by 49.8% (p<0.001) and foot-mobility by 55.8% (p<0.001).
- All measured gait parameters demonstrated statistically significant improvements from baseline to follow-up.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric Belt Cane use is associated with enhanced gait speed, step length, and foot-mobility in children with CVI.
- The findings suggest the Pediatric Belt Cane is a promising assistive device for improving functional mobility in this population.
- Further research with larger, controlled studies is warranted to confirm generalizability and clinical significance.
Objective:
Because children with cerebral/cortical visual impairment (CVI) may have difficulty using visual preview to guide safe navigation, including hazard detection, obstacle negotiation, and foot placement resulting in more cautious gait patterns, we evaluated whether wearing a Pediatric Belt Cane is associated with improved gait speed in children with CVI, with step length and a foot-mobility metric analyzed as exploratory outcomes.
Methods:
In this pre-post observational pilot, we analyzed smartphone videos from 11 children with clinicial diagnosed CVI at baseline and 8-week follow-up while wearing a Pediatric Belt Cane. Representative walking segments were processed using MediaPipe Pose to track bilateral feet and derive gait speed, step length, and foot-mobility. Outcomes were averaged across left/right per child and compared between baseline and follow-up using paired tests.
Results:
At follow-up, gait speed was higher than at baseline; step length and foot-mobility showed similar improvements. Child-level mean changes were: gait speed +66.0% (p<0.001), step length +49.8% (p<0.001), and foot-mobility +55.8% (p<0.001).
Conclusion:
In this pilot pre-post cohort, pediatric belt cane use was associated with improved gait speed, with supportive improvements in step length and foot-mobility. Larger controlled studies are needed to confirm generalizability and clinical impact.
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